Ge. 31: Jacob Bails, Laban Freaks

So Jacob finds out he's being falsely accused of stealing all Laban owned, and getting rich off of Laban. And surprise, surprise, Jacob notices that maybe Laban isn't as fond of him as he once was. Then God appears to Jacob and tells him to go back the land of Isaac. So Jacob rounds up the posse. He explains to Rachel and Leah that in spite of the constant of his work, Laban has changed his wages ten times. In spite of the oft-changing Laban, it has been the LORD who has been constant.

Of special interest to me is that God doesn't make Jacob stick around and face down this conflict with his uncle. He doesn't cram Jacob and Laban together in some sort of emotional octagon and settle their differences and come to some sort of a reconciliation. Rather, the LORD tells Jacob to go back home, to flee this danger. This is the opposite of how God tells Hagar to deal with Sarah. Perhaps this is because Jacob worked will his strength to please his uncle, to earn his wages, and still Laban never fully appreciated it or showed Jacob the love he needed...as a worker or a nephew/son-in-law.

What do Rachel and Leah say upon hearing this?

"What about our inheritance?"

Reeeeeeeeeeeal niiiiiiiiiice. But in a roundabout way, their line of thought leads them to understand that Laban has used and abused his wealth anyway, so they go along with what the LORD has been telling Jacob.

Its nice to get that confirmation from people when you tell them how God is working in your life. Though it may be hard for others to hear, and tainted by their own cynicism, what a great relief it had to be for Jacob to hear "do whatever God has told you."

So they load up and leave Paddan Aram, and hit the road to Canaan, without a word to Laban. I probably would have wanted to at least give my two weeks notice, but this was different. They crossed the Euphrates and headed for Gilead.

Three days later, Laban finds out that Jacob left. This guy must be kind of disconnected, or he has being enough property where someone as important and controversial as Jacob can leave without anyone knowing. He cuts out after Jacob, and catches up to him in Gilead. Then God appeared to Laban this time, telling him not to say anything to Jacob, good or bad. A warning mayhaps to leave him alone? Something tells me this won't end well.

Sure enough, first thing Laban does when he sets up camp is to confront Jacob. Like someone who is blinded by arrogance in not realizing what they have done wrong, Laban recounts what Jacob did to him. "Why didn't you tell me, I could have sent you off with tambourines and harps, and I could have kissed my grandchildren. I have the power to harm you, but God told me not to say anything to you, good or bad. Besides, someone took my household gods."

At least Laban didn't lie about what God told him. But this was no bargaining chip either. God was going to protect Jacob no matter what, and I think Jacob knew it.

Jacob didn't know Rachel took the gods, so he tells Laban he was afraid to tell him...fearing that Laban would take away Leah and Rachel and li'l Reuben and the rest. But he was not a thief, so anyone who would have taken the Gods would be a dead man. "Search me," he tells Laban.

In the course of rummaging through Jacob's and his family's belongings, Laban doesn't find the gods. He searches everything except Rachel's saddlebags. She cited a visit from her Aunt Flow as the reason she didn't stand up and let Laban go through her stuff.

Jacob has had it with the rummaging and the accusations by now, and lets Laban have it in a pretty fair rant. Laban's answer is that still everything is his. His daughters (Jacob's wives), his grandchildren (Jacob's children), and his flocks (per agreement, Jacob's flocks). All "his."

So anyway, they make a covenant at the witness heap, that neither side will cross over it. God was a witness here, in that if there was any wrongdoing, and the other side didn't know about it, God would. This is a snapshot of people realizing God's omniscience. Then they sacrifice, have a feast, Laban kisses his grandchildren good bye, and all is well. Right?